IEC defends recruitment and training after questions over voting station staff conduct
As of 5pm on election day, 188 000 election staff had scanned over 12 million voters at polling stations across the country.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has refuted allegations that its personnel were insufficiently prepared for the election week. During an evening briefing on election day, IEC officials addressed concerns about staff behavior, voter management devices (VMD), and counting procedures. IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo announced that as of 5pm, the commission had recorded 12 million votes, with at least seven million coming from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape.
Mamabolo emphasized that the commission had enlisted 188,000 citizens to manage the anticipated voter turnout, highlighting the immense scale of the operation. He acknowledged that there were some complaints regarding the speed and efficiency of staff and the preparedness of presiding officers, but maintained that these were exceptions rather than the norm.
Mamabolo praised the extensive training provided to the commission's staff, including four e-learning modules made accessible for staff use at any time and direct physical training sessions for presiding officers. Regarding the use of VMDs, Mamabolo stated that the 53,000 devices had been thoroughly tested and audited independently.
He confirmed that there were no widespread malfunctions reported with the VMDs as of the election day. When questioned about voting stations that opened late, Mamabolo noted that there were no widespread instances of late openings, therefore no additional time would be granted for those stations. He assured that any voters still waiting at 9pm would be accommodated but urged them not to wait until the last minute.
If the final voter departs a station, the doors will close, and counting will commence. Ballots are to be counted at the voting station where they were cast, and the counting process may be observed by party agents and accredited observers. Mamabolo reiterated that all ballots would be verified for the security stamp before being sorted into ward and proportional representation piles.
All ballots would be sent to the local office of the commission for reconciliation before the results are considered. Verified results will then be scanned, captured, and subjected to independent external auditing. Lastly, IEC officials were asked to provide an update on the stolen ballots in Ward 2 of eThekwini. While the matter was still under investigation, Mosotho Moepya, the chairperson of the IEC, assured voters that the stolen ballots would not be included in the counted ballots.
Moepya assured that the commission had implemented a "matrix of safeguards" to ensure the integrity of the election, and that any stolen ballots could not be reintegrated into the counted ballots.
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